Official PYD statements against latest attacks

The PYD Executive Committee has released a statement to clarify some issues following the intensified media campaign against the party, from political parties associated with regional and international powers.
Efforts to distort facts and involvement in dirty tricks to destabilize western Kurdistan runs against the interest of the people and is an offence against the sacrifice of the people, says the party.

PYD underlines the following points in the statement:

- We are a political party active in West Kurdistan and all our activities are open to public scrutiny. We do not interfere with the practice of national institutions. These are democratic institutions that were established by our people, based on decision made in the Supreme Kurdish Council.

- We are a political party like any other party. We are at the service of our people and the decisions made by our democratically elected assemblies. We are not an authoritarian party. We have no ambitions to expand our powers other than through democratic procedures. We welcome political opposition and all our efforts are directed to consolidate the operations of our democratic institutions.

- What is rumored about the subordination of existing national institutions in western Kurdistan to our party, are nothing more than fabrications. The aim of these attacks is to vilify our party and to discredit the de facto achievements made by our efforts the last couple of years. These attempts to discredit our party are in order to create a pretext to attack us, instigate fraternal fighting and to establish militias.

- We as a political party do not interfere in the affairs of legitimate institutions belonging to the democratic Self Rule like for example the Asayish, the YPG or the judicial bodies. We call on these institutions to adhere to international standards, human rights and fundamental freedoms in dealing with all political parties and civil society organizations. We support transparency in all cases of arrest, interrogation and investigation, whether of individuals or organizations.

-We hope that the concerned political parties would focus their attention to the operations of the legitimate democratic institutions in western Kurdistan in case of complaints, instead of resorting to attacks on our party.

- We condemn the unfounded attempts to distort facts and the truths about the Democratic Self Rule in western Kurdistan, and emphasize our readiness to cooperate with all parties and organizations who are willing to approach us in a fraternal and open-minded manner.

The statement ends with a further clarification by the PYD:

"Victory is within our reach, that all components of the society in western Kurdistan will be able to establish and participate in a democratic system of their own making. Their efforts could provide a role model for the rest of the region, establishing the first truly democratic confederation in the Middle East".